Nevada joins handful of states with spans of 80 mph driving

FORTY MILE DESERT, Nev. (AP) - Of all the things you can do legally in Nevada, but not most other places, driving 80 mph lately hasn't been one of them.

That changed this week when new speed-limit signs started popping up in place of 75 mph (121 kph) markers on a stretch of the state's main east-west highway.

Nevada joins South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah in allowing people to drive 80 mph (129 kph) in certain, mostly rural areas. The highest speed limit in the U.S. is 85 mph (137 kph) on a Texas toll road from Austin to San Antonio.

Nevada's new limit applies to 130 miles (209 kilometers) of Interstate 80 in the high desert, from 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Reno to the rural town of Winnemucca.